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How
To Care for Orphaned Wild Cottontail Bunnies

Orphan
Cottontail Rabbits

Orphaned wildlife tend to knock on the door of a kind- hearted person more than once for assistance. So, for baby birds go here , opossums, here, raccoons here , squirrels hereandhere. Turtleshere. Bobcats and other such creatures are for professionals only, go, here.

Wild rabbits in North America do not require vaccinations. That does not mean they can not spread diseases. Be clean. To see what other wildlife receive in the way of vaccinations, click on the ark.

Lots
of my articles are plagiarized and altered on the web to market
products and services. There are never ads running or anything
for sale with my real articles. Try to stay
with the ones that begin with http://www.2ndchance.info/ in the
URL box or find all my articles at ACC.htm.

This
spring seemed like a good time to take another look at raising
baby cottontail bunnies. Of all the foundling creatures that ended
up on my hospital doorstep, baby cottontails are the hardest to
successfully raise. I
took some time to speak to some remarkable individuals who rehabilitate
large numbers of cottontails, the manufacturers of milk replacements,
experts on the organisms that grass-eating animals use to process
their foods and most of the veterinarians who lead in rabbit-care
in the United States and Canada.

If
you are reading this article because you wish to make a pet out
of a young wild rabbit you have found – forget it. It is not
going to work out. Get a domestic rabbit. There are plenty of them
for sale inexpensively and in need of a home at rabbit shelters
across the US. For another take on raising cottontails see Lou Rea
Kenyon's advice. The Wayback Machine captured it as it appeared
in 2007 here and here.

This
Is A Common Story That Clients Tell Me:

"I
was mowing the grass and accidentally went over a cottontail rabbit
nest. Some of the babies are still alive".

Or:
"My cat just arrived home with a baby bunny and presented it
to me as a present".

Or:
"my kids just brought a little rabbit home. What should I do?"

Or:
"I just found a nest of baby bunnies and their mother seems
to have abandoned them"

What
Should You Do If Something Similar Happens To You?

If
you just happened to stumble on a nest, you need to understand that
nursing wild mother cottontails only feed their babies intermittently
during the night and for a few minutes in the early morning hours.
That is the only time you will see the mother at the nest. So you
might falsely assume that the mother is neglecting her litter or
that she has completely abandoned them when these babies are actually
in no danger.

Also,
young cottontails can live independently at a surprisingly young
age. Look at the bunny in my hands in the second photograph.
If the one you found is that size, it can do quite well on its own.
Just be sure you and your neighbor's cats and dogs are confined
for a few weeks. Do not tame or pet this baby because it needs to
remain fearfull of pets and humans to survive.

Baby
cottontail eyes open at 6-8 days. Mothers wean their offspring at
4-5 weeks of age. If it is over six and a half inches long from
tail to nose, re-release it where it was found - the mother is still
near by. Over half the baby cottontails brought to me really didn't
need to be rescued. If the one you found doesn't look like the one
in the photograph or you are just interested in knowing more about
cottontails, please read on:

Is
This Baby Really An Orphan?

Rabbits leave their nest when they are only 5 inches or so long.
At this stage they will be sniffing and nibbling at the plants around
them and carrying their ears erect. They may seem too small and
fragile to survive without their mothers – but they are not.
If you had to run after or corner the bunny and it appears to be
uninjured, take it back where you found it. If there are too many
cats and dogs there, take it to a thick brushy area at the edge
of a grassy meadow and release it there.

Some
people stumble on a rabbit nest and assume the babies are orphans
because the mother is nowhere to be seen. As I mentioned, mother
bunnies only tend to their babies from sunset to sunrise and even
then, they only stay close to their babies and nurse them for short
periods. If the area where you discovered them is free from immediate
danger, put the bunnies back in it cover it with a light layer of
dry grass and leaves, and check it the following morning for small
clues that the mother visited during the night. If the babies tummies
are plump, if you see a “milk line” through their skin,
or if string you place over the nest has been disturbed, the mother
is doing her job. If the babies are cold, dehydrated, or weaker
than they were the previous day, you will need to remove them if
they are to survive.

We Have Touched The Bunnies, I suppose The Mother Will Abandon
Them Now?

This probably will not happen. Rabbits have a very good sense of
smell, but predators and humans pass through their environment every
day. A momma bunny’s maternal instincts are strong and it
is not a threatening scent but a threatening presence that cottontail
rabbits try to avoid.

However, if you have destroyed the high grass with a lawnmower,
if your dog dug them up, or if the area surrounding the nest has
been significantly changed, the mother will probably not continue
care for her babies.

How
Old Is This Bunny?

When
cottontails are first born, they weigh in the neighborhood of 28-40
grams (1-1.4 oz), depending on the strain of cottontail and the
litter size. By the time they venture out on their own, they weight
100 –130 grams (3.5- 4.6 oz).

Here
are some things you can look for to decide the approximate age of
the bunny:

Baby’s
naked or only thin fur or fluff 1-7 days
Baby’s ears are still closed 1-7 days
Baby’s eyes open at about 5-7 days
Baby’s ears stand erect 9-12 days
Baby has a complete hair coat 14 days
Baby’s show interest and begin nibbling on items about 12
-15 days
Babies become more active and begin leaving the nest to explore
about 15-20 days
Baby 5-6 inches long at 17-22 days
Baby is nervous, jumpy, spooky, respond to sudden noises, ears erect
= 21 days + Is It Hard To Successfully Raise A Wild Cottontail
Orphan?

Baby
cottontail rabbits are the most difficult of all furry wildlife
orphans to successfully raise or rehabilitate.

Wild bunnies have the same basic needs and medical problems that
domestic rabbits do. However, the conditions in which they survive
and thrive is much narrower than that of domestic rabbits. Like
all wild prey animals cottontail rabbits are very easy to fatally
overstress. They mature much faster than domestic rabbits and when
the go down hill, they do so very fast and rarely give you time
to correct the problem that caused it.

Successfully raising these bunnies is a major commitment in time
and dedication. You can’t rush it, you can’t work it
into your schedule around other commitments - like kids and work
hours. Some people seem to naturally have this nurturing talent
while others who love wildlife just as much do not. Some people
are just too giving and over-feed these babies. Those people can
do more by just offering support to others that are more successful
at it.

People who raise orphan cottontail rabbits loose them in three
ways:

The
earliest, die from trauma and harsh exposure before they were brought
to rehabilitation centers. Baby bunnies do not have reserves to
fall back on when they are deprived of food, warmth and shelter
for more than a day. House cat-captured bunnies ,in particular,
often die from infections and stress.

The
second group of babies die due to lack of their mother’s protective
antibodies passed on to them through natural rabbit milk.

The
third and most common cause of death is failure to establish normal
rabbit flora (bacteria) in their intestinal tract at the time they
are weaning.

Of
course, a lot of other things can go wrong. I have seen improper
temperature, poorly concocted diets, over feeding, bad sanitation
and stressful environment all do in baby cottontails.

What
Is The Best Way To Hand-rear Baby Cottontails

There
are as many variations in raising infant cottontails as there are
people doing it and everyone naturally thinks their way is the best.
Just like the roads in your City, there are often several fine ways
to get to your destination. There are also some roads that are bumpy,
dead ends or quite dangerous. This pertains particularly to milk
formulas and feeding schedules. I can tell you the ones that I know
work well. But that doesn’t mean there are not others.

Are
There Any Laws That Say I Can Not Care For This Baby Rabbit ?

Yes, there are probably plenty of these laws where you live. Wildlife
officials do not care about the fate of any one, orphaned cottontail
rabbit. They design laws to “mange” wildlife in general.
Most see cottontails as a resource to be “harvested”
during rabbit season or as a food resource for other wildlife. It
would be very difficult to design laws that made exceptions for
the baby that you just found.

As a tidbit to public opinion, and in attempt to make things more
manageable, most State agencies make an exception for licensed wildlife
rehabilitators and wildlife rehabilitation centers. It is undeniably
true that people who make a career out of raising orphan wildlife
tend to get better at it with time. They apprentice with others,
take training courses and read up on the subject. Some will have
better success rates than you will - even if you follow my advice.
They also handle the discovery of a dead bunny in the cage better
than most of you will. But I am not going to get in to what you
should or should not do with this bunny - that’s not what
this article is about.

If
you are helping this bunny because you feel sorry for it, I prefer
you not leave it off at wildlife centers that take in birds of prey
and small carnivores for reasons I will not dwell on. Find a rehabilitator
that cares for only wild rabbits and squirrels. Avoid facilities
that have multiple volunteers caring for individual cottontails
- that never works out well. Avoid surrendering the bunny to people
who are unpleasant or speak badly about other wildlife rehabilitators.
Bunnies are very attune to the personalities of their caregivers.
They like calm, pleasant, nurturing people.

How
Much Human Contact Should This Bunny Have?

That
depends on where and how soon you plan to release it.

There
are two conflicting processes working here. The first is that baby
bunnies are calmer, easier to feed and less stressed when they are
comfortable with the touch and presence of the person who feeds
and cares for them. Initially bunnies may seem tame and accepting
of handling when they are actually terrified and frozen with fear.
The older the baby is when it is found, the more likely this reaction.
If the baby you found is capable of feeding itself entirely on plants,
minimize your contact with it. That way, it will be more likely
to survive when you do release it.

If it is younger, with repeated handling and caressing it will calm
down, relax and thrive. But it's trusting nature will be a disability
to its survival when you are no longer there to protect it. I know
of no easy solution for this. Bunnies that no longer have normal
fear responses need to be released in locations where they are protected
from humans, pets and predators if they are to survive. There is
an element of this problem in all bunnies that are hand raised, but
it will be worse in those that have the most human contact. However,
some bunny rehabilitators have found that those with the most human
contact thrive the best. An alternative is to release trusting bunnies
in stages, moving them to larger and larger pens and visiting them
less and less, until their natural spookiness returns.

Harmony
is important. Just as the temperament of the caregiver is important,
so are things like sunshine, bright colors, calming background music,
a gentle voice and the presence of a few other bunnies of similar
age.

At
What Temperature Should I Keep The Baby ?

Buy
an aquarium thermometer or chick hatchery thermometer at a pet supply
house or feed store.

The
bunny’s environment should be cozily warm, but not hot. The
body temperature of adult cottontails is about 101.5 – 102.5
F. Babies run a degree or two cooler. If room temperature is kept
at 78-80F, furred bunnies usually remain warm by just snuggling
down in their nest, particularly if there is more than one.

Smaller
bunnies and chilled bunnies and bunnies maintained at colder temperatures
need supplemental heat. An ordinary heating pad, on its lowest setting,
placed under 1/3 –1/2 of the primary box they are in should
be sufficient. Too hot an environment is as damaging as one that
is too cold.

Smaller,
babies without complete fur really need an incubator to keep them
at proper temperature. These can be improvised using a low wattage
light bulb. But you need to get it to a constant temperature before
the bunnies are put in it.

What
Are Some Of The Main Reasons Baby Bunnies Do Not Survive? (Stress
Of Neglect, Predator Trauma, Chilling, Dehydration, etc)

Sometimes,
too much time passed and to many stressful things happened to this
baby before it came to you.

On hot days, baby rabbits can dehydrate rapidly. Once dehydration
is severe enough, giving fluids orally is no longer sufficient.

House cats are major predators of urban rabbits. They tend to take
them just about the time they leave the nest. Cats love to bring
these unfortunate babies home to play with - never quite killing
them. Some of these bunnies die from bacteria carried in the cat’s
mouth while others are just stress beyond recovery.

Unseasonably cold or rainy weather is tough on baby rabbits. Some
will leave the nest too early and may be beyond recovery when they
are found.

This
is particularly a problem in babies that are under 2 weeks of age.
Cottontail mother’s milk has protective ingredients ("antimicrobial
fatty acids") that artificial milk replacements
cannot duplicate. Others call these
ingredients “stomach oils”. Their first milk (colostrum) is very rich in an active form of vitamin A called retinol - something not found in replacement formulas but essential for normal development. (ref)

Baby
bunnies receive protective antibodies from their mothers while they
are still in the womb. But during the next 10-12 days of their lives,
this antibody is lost. Mother rabbit milk also contains these same
antibodies (immunoglobulins) that help protect baby during its first
12 days. Hand-raised bunnies are at a major disadvantage in not
receiving them in that they are more susceptible to infections.

Antibiotics
are not a solution to this problem. They may prolog the baby’s
survival by a few days, but they cause more harm than good by destroying
protective good bacteria along
with the bad.

Should
I Add Lactobacillus (Probiotics)?

Healthy
baby rabbits do not naturally have lactobacilli bacteria in their
intestinal tract or stomach and it is unknown if any of these bacteria
can actually survive the high acid content of the baby rabbit stomach.
But that doesn’t mean that lactobacillus and other probiotics
bacteria might not help protect them from dangerous bacteria during
their first 2-3 weeks of life. In the lab, these bacteria are known
to protect rabbits from the
toxic effects of certain bacteria and they seem to protect rodents
under stress . They promote the formation of an acid (lactic acid)
environment which might help prevent harmful bacteria from flourishing.

Some
bunny rehabbers feel that probiotics do help somewhat in preventing
intestinal disorders. The products they commonly use are PetAg’s
Bene-bac, Fox Valley’s Formula LA200 or human Flora Smart
in dried or past culture.

But
a greater number find that giving natural rabbit cecotrophes
beginning when the baby is 3 days old works better.
When given, a pea-size amount is sufficient. Place it in the bunny’s
mouth rather than mixing it with its formula. Whether or not you
give the baby probiotics, giving cecotrophes will be esential to
the bunny's survival. You may find that "yucky" but human
physicians are just now learning how important intestinal bacteria
are to good health. These
links will take you to two recent key articles on the subject (link
1, link 2)
.

Probiotics
products are not a substitute for seeding the baby cottontail with
its normal bacteria as quickly as you can. I do not give both
cecotrophes and lactobacillus/bifidobacter cultures simultaneously
because Lactobacillus promotes an acid environment, in which cecotrophic
organisms do not thrive. In rodents, it takes a minimum of 59
separate organism strains before the physiology of their digestive
tract remains normal. A total of 55
different organisms of this type were found to naturally live in
cottontails.

Bunnies
Lost Due To Improper Formulas

There
is no end to the curious things people attempt to feed baby cottontails.
The usual thing that does them in is feeding cows milk. It is not
the lactose in cow’s milk that is the problem, the lactose
level of goat milk formula is higher. The problem with cow’s
milk is that it is too dilute in nutrients to sustain baby cottontails.
Other than cows milk, things like honey apple sauce and sugary fruit
additions are really not things baby bunnies are equipped to digest.

Bunnies
Lost Due To Overfeeding

This
is one of the biggest problems in feeding baby bunnies. It is just
hard for many of us to stop feeding a cute bunny. My rule of thumb
is stop feeding the moment the bunny does not accept its formula
greedily or the moment its tummy becomes slightly rounded. Feeding
1-3 week old baby rabbits too infrequently (only 1-3 times a day)
also encourages them to over-nurse. Over-distending the poor infant’s
stomach is also a problem when formulas are too dilute – such
as straight goat’s milk or canned KMR. Remember, real cottontail
milk is very thick and rich – 33%
solids! . Some people say these bunnies die of “bloat”
- which is sort true. But it was milk bloat, not gaseous bloat.

Mortality
Due To Dysbiosis

People
who raise orphan cottontail rabbits know all about this problem
even if they do not use the word, dysbiosis. They get in 1-2 week
old baby bunnies that look great. The rabbits nurse well, grow well,
and then suddenly drop dead. They may look fine in the morning,
a bit apathetic at noon, and gone a few hours later with only a
few terminal signs. Occasionally they have diarrhea, but most do
not. Some also call this “bloat” but that is not what
really happened. Others call it acute enterotoxemia or acute mucoid
enteropathy, which is truer. Here is what is really happening -
it is a long and complicated story:

When
cottontail rabbits are born, there are no bacteria in their digestive
systems. Dysbiosis is a fancy word for the wrong intestinal tract
bacteria. If the right ones are not provided (by you), the wrong
ones will inevitably take over.

Your hand raised baby bunnies do not have a source of these important
protective organisms. In the wild, it would have receive them from
its mother as she groomed them and as they would have been contaminated
by or ingest her stools.

How
Do I Prevent These Digestive Problems In My Cottontail(s) ?

You
will have to bring these important organisms to the bunny yourself.
You are their momma now and its your job. If you aren't up to it,
give the rabbit to someone who is.

The
critters you need are in their highest concentration in the cecotrophs.
Since the role of each organism is unknown, you need to supply all
the types that are present. I am sure a few types survive in ordinary
rabbit droppings - but not all of them do and not in sufficient
quantity. Some of these organisms are fairly stable
but others are very delicate. Many of these organisms are killed
when exposed to air. Some survive up to 14 days at 40F in the fridge
but even there some types last less than a day. At 95F, many types
only survive 1-12 hours.

Cecotrophes
(CTs, Transfaunation)

We
all know what regular rabbit poop looks like. But the kind you need
is different. Rabbits produce this form mostly at night. It is dark,
sticky and clumpy and it smells. Most people, who have successfully
raised orphan cottontails, get this material from a healthy mature
domestic rabbit. Don’t look for one at the feed store or pet
shop. You need a healthy, well-adjusted, domestic rabbit that has
been eating a hay and rabbit pellet diet for a considerable period
of time. Check with your local 4-H or FFA. Pet domestic rabbits
that are being fed too rich a diet do not make good donors.

In
the morning, you can often find a few cecotrophes that have dropped
through the rabbits wire cage floor or in corners and nooks in the
rabbit’s cage. (it is not good to keep rabbits on wire –
but that’s a different problem). One can also put a rabbit
in an Elizabethan collar to
keep it from eating its cecotrophes the previous night. Be sure
there is new paper under the cage. Slope the floor to prevent urine
from contaminating the material.

Feeding
one cecotrophes to the baby cottontail a day is sufficient (less
to smaller babies). Many are soft and gooey enough for you to just
place it in the infant’s mouth and let him swallow it. It
is better to give a small amount of this material on many days than
it is to give a large amount only a few times. If conditions are
right in the rabbit, the organisms in the cecotrophes will proliferate
and flourish in the bunny’s cecum. If conditions are not right,
no amount will flourish. Some people liquify the cecotrophes so
they can feed them with a syringe. This is probably OK if you mix
it with a thick formula, not water. The organisms need the buffers
to survive. Cecotrophes also contribute important
enzymes that help the bunny digest.

You
can also mix it into the bunny’s milk formula, but I prefer
not to do this because it breaks down the mucus that protect these
fecal organisms from strong acids in the bunny’s stomach.

Give
cecotrophes 2-3 times a week until the bunny is weaned. When these
organisms will all take hold and flourish depends on the changing
acidity of the bunny’s digestive tract as it matures, the
food being fed and the pioneer organisms that have already established
themselves there.

Some
rehabbers have had success refrigerating cecotrophes material and
used it later. But I doubt that the entire population that was initially
present survives long in the fridge. Some of the organisms are more
stable than others and perhaps they are all that will be needed.
Home freezer temperatures do not preserve some of these bacteria
well and none of the normal protozoa survive freezing. (I have used
products called cryoprotectives
to freeze some
of these organisms in liquid nitrogen when I had unlimited resources
to do so.)

Do
not allow your cottontails to nibble on plant material (hay, grass,
etc.) before you have begun them on cecotrophes. The plant material
will simply rot in their cecum if they do not have the cecotrophic
bacteria to help them digest it.

For an April, 2015 email Dr. Hines received regarding alternatives to cecotrophes gohere

Does
This Orphan Need Veterinary Or Emergency Care?

Cottontails
are easily injured when they have been caught by pets. When it was
a house cat that caught them, the damage can be unapparent to you
- but still fatal.

Many
I see were run over by lawnmowers. These bunnies need immediate,
specialized care. Dog and cat veterinarians are generally not adept
(successful) at treating wild bunnies. Call a wildlife rehabilitation
specialist and ask where to take the rabbit. Cottontails do not
handle antibiotics well. When they
must get antibiotics, only certain ones (e.g. Bactrim/Septra) can
be used and, the good bacteria and other flora of their digestive
systems still ought to be replaced when the antibiotics are no longer
in their system.

Check
the baby thoroughly for any evidence of limping, wounds, blood,
missing fur, abnormally low body temperature, erratic breathing,
or dehydration. Ear mites can make these creaturesmiserable. People who make bunny rehabilitation a focus of their
lives are better equipped to deal with these injured babies than
most veterinarians or the general public.

Injured
or stressed baby cottontails have a much greater chance of survival
if you personally take them to a wildlife rehabilitation
center and not just drop them off at your local veterinarian’s
hospital or some other pickup point. That hospital will probably
just call a rehabber for a pickup. That waists precious time the
bunny may not have. Besides, the rehabbers is busy enough caring
for her animals and doesn't need to be driving around picking up
new ones. Good meaning people with time on their hands may provide
this service, but they are often clueless as to the needs of orphans.

Bunnies
that have been abandoned more than a day are often dehydrated. When
the skin at the nape (base) of the neck is pinched, it will spring
back slower if the baby is dehydrated. Mild dehydration can be treated
with oral fluids (pedialyte). But severely dehydrated bunnies will
no longer absorb fluids given orally. Those rabbits need subcutaneous
injections of fluid (ringer’s solution, etc.). If you are
reading this article and not a wildlife health care professional
– that is something you should not attempt.

One
big advantage that seasoned wild rabbit rehabilitators have is that
from their past sad experiences, they usually recognize the signs
of gastrointestinal problems sooner than you will. Sick baby bunnies
go downhill lightening-fast. From the first sign that something
is amiss to death of the baby can be as short as an hour. In handling
baby bunnies for the first time, remember they jump like springs
and are easily injured when they are dropped – so cover your
hand.

Low
body temperature is very dangerous. Baby should not feel cold in
your hand. Its gum color should be bright pink – not bluish.
Its nose should be of a uniform color with no crusts. It should
wiggle its nose. The best way to emergency warm baby bunnies it
is with heated towels or a blow dryer as you shield the baby from
direct dryer heat with your hands. I prefer warmed towels when I
can because blow driers are too noisy and stressful. Once it is
warm, wrap it in a cotton sock or washcloth and place it on a hot
water bottle.
Give nothing by mouth until its temperature is warm and then just
a drop or two of warm pedialyte. Any bluish color is a very bad
signs.

People
who raise orphan baby cottontails need to purchase an accurate small
scale. Weigh the bunny every day and
jot its weight down in a notebook. Ideally, it should gain weight
every day throughout the period you care for it. Some days it will
gain more weight than others. But a period of 2 days of flat weight
or any loss of weight is not a good sign.

These
are average growth curves for wild, mother-raised baby cottontails.
They are not going to exactly match the growth curve of your cottontail
because the cottontails that live in your area may be larger or
smaller, their litter size influences their growth rate, and the
formula and amount you feed are not going to match that provided
by their mother. Your rabbit will do fine even when it is above
or below the general curve. But the shape of the curve you
plot should generally match the shape of the curve I have provided.
There is as much danger in a bunny growing too fast as there is
in one growing too slow.

Cottontail
rabbits reach about 90% of their adult body weight 125 days from
birth. Their most rapid growth is in their first 60 days. At birth,
they weigh from 28-40 grams. They wean at about 118 grams. Their
final adult body weight is about 1,150 grams.

What
Should I Feed This Bunny ?

Diets
for cottontails have always been a source of confusion and contention.
There are three reasons for this:

The
first is that there are so many independent bunny rehabbers in the
US who do not coordinate their efforts or are reluctant to share
information. The exact nutritional needs of baby livestock, dogs,
cats and humans have been known for a century. But when it comes
to the nutritional requirements of orphan cottontails, we are more
or less clueless. Things generally don’t get done in the US
unless there is some financial incentive for doing them.

The
second is that there are so many factors, other than formula, that
can lead to baby bunny death or failure to thrive. It is always
easiest to blame formula constituents for limited success or attribute
success to some “magical” ingredient.

The
third is that all replacement formulas, goat’s milk included,
vary from batch to batch and none of them perform
as well as real rabbit milk. All powdered infant animal formulas
consist of natural raw ingredients, purchased from commodities brokers.
There is a limit to how many tests a company can perform on the
ingredients that go into their formulas and still make a profit.

Wild
cottontail rabbits feed their babies milk that is exceedingly rich . It is about four times as high in protein and fat as cow’s
milk and is richer than cow’s
milk in vitamins.

Most
people who successfully raise orphan baby cottontail rabbits in
the United States use a formula made from a combination of powdered
KMR
(kitten milk replacement) and another product called Zoologic 30/55®
(aka Multi Milk®). Generally, they are mixed 1 part KMR, 1 ½
parts Zoologic 30/55/Multi Milk and 2 parts of warm, previously-boiled
water. This gives a consistency that at about twice as thick as
the mixing directions on the label. It must be fully dissolved
and smooth - never lumpy or gritty and it should not settle to the
bottom.

These
products are made by PetAg.
Similar ones are manufactured by Fox
Valley. Many get equally good results with Zoologic 33/40 mixed
with Multi-milk. PetAg was spun off from Borden's and is now a small,
privately-owned company. If you live outside of North America, you
can try to obtain one of the Wombaroo
product lines. All commercial powdered milk formulas are complex
recipes, having limitted shelf life and rely on ingredients that
vary from batch to batch. Do not feed any that are lumpy, smell
rancid, have been stored in hot environments or are reaching their
expiration dates. Refrigerate the container as soon as you purchase
it. Their dry commercial formulas have varied from batch to batch
and they have a short shelf life. You can read about those problems
here.

The
problem with feeding formulas based on only powdered KMR is that
no matter how you dilute it, it will not match the fat or carbohydrate
content of cottontail milk. That is why some rehabbers use powdered
Esbilac instead or add heavy whipping cream. Never use a sweetened
cream.

There
are only a few suppliers of the Zoologic line in the US. In a pinch,
1 part heavy whipping cream can be added to 3 parts powdered KMR
and 3-4 parts water until you can get your hands on a can of Zoologic,
UPS overnite.

If
any formula causes diarrhea, try feeding it more diluted with pedialyte,
in smaller amounts and at an increased frequency. It is not so much
that diluteness lessens diarrhea, but it does replace the fluids
lost to diarrhea.

KMR
and Esbilac are also sold premixed in cans. They are not suitable
for use in feeding rabbits. Their biggest problem is that they
are too dilute. Baby rabbits would have real problems drinking enough
to meet their nutritional needs. But even their diluted nutrient
analysis is too dissimilar from cottontail milk to sustain baby
rabbits for long.

If
you would like to read a letter from a very successful cottontail
rescuer in Ohio, go here.

Goat
Milk Formulas

For
over 30 years we have known that rabbits can be successfully raised
on formulas
based on goat milk. I have no experience doing so. Ordinary
goat’s milk is, too dilute in nutrients to sustain cottontails
when fed in normal amounts. But it is sold by Meyenberg in a more
concentratedpowdered
and an evaporated form that can be the basis of cottontail formulas.

When
you have decided which formula you will use, mix
up enough for one day and store it in the refrigerator. Use the
same degree of sanitation and cleanliness you would for a human
infant.

At
What Temperature Should I Feed The Formula ?

The
formula should be warm to the touch but not too hot – the
same temperature that you would choose for a baby human infant.
Microwaving formula can cause hot-spots that scald the baby, and
repeated microwaving or freezing and thawing destroys vitamins.
Just run hot water into a pan and drop the syringe into that until
it comes to temperature.

How
Should I Give The Milk ?

I
prefer a 1cc tuberculin syringe with removable needle. Your veterinarian
should have some. Use and re-boil them between feedings until they
no longer hold vacuum. As the babies grow, switch to a 3ml syringe.
Ask for syringes that are not “luer lock”.

For
very small or weak bunnies, I place a 22Gu soft intravenous catheter
on the tip. Some rehabilitators prefer a rigid stainless steel feeding
tip. A pet nursing bottle can be used for the largest babies - but
only if they are bright and chipper.
Squeeze pipettes also work well – you can draw out the tip
when it is softened over a cigarette lighter . Teat canulas can
also be used for tips. Here is a photo
of some of the stuff I use.

Bunnies
like to take their time nursing. That is fine when you have one
or two babies – never rush them. But nurturing baby cottontails
that way consumes too much time when rehabilitators are drowning
in rabbits. In those cases, the babies can be feed more rapidly
and safely with a gastric tube. Do not attempt this without instruction
– it is very easy to deliver too much milk causing pneumonia
or suffocation.

However
you feed, do not depress the plunger of the syringe any faster than
the baby swallows. When you coax it, most cottontails will lick
or lap up the drop of milk on the end of the syringe. Advance the
plunger down slowly as need be. You will need to actually put the
end of the syringe in the mouth of small babies that still have
their eyes closed. (of course, without the needle).

How
Much Should I Feed?

You
will find many different suggested feeding amounts. That is because
the amount that needs to be given will vary considerably depending
on the richness of the formula you feed and the frequency at which
you offer it. Rather than follow those guides, feed your bunny as
long as it greedily accepts the formula and stop when it doesn’t.
Never continue to encourage them to swallow when they are no longer
enthusiastic about it.

Feed
the baby until its stomach has filled out but is not so much that
it becomes firm, taunt or hard. When in doubt, feed less but feed
more frequently until you are confident the cottontail is thriving.
If it is steadily gaining weight, you are doing fine,

I
know of rehabbers who do fine giving approximately 10% of the bunny's
weight (grams=cc=ml) 3 times a day up to a maximum of 6 cc, weighing
them at every feeding. Once they are nibbling, they feed less or
skip feeding if their weight gain was sufficient during the day.

How
Often Should I Feed?

I
feed cottontail babies every 2-3 hours during my waking hours until
their eyes open. There is no need to try to duplicate their natural
twilight and nighttime feedings. Then I gradually reduce my feedings
to every 3-4 hours during their 2nd to 4th week. If the babies do
not appear to be hungry, I try again a few hours later.

Feeding
less frequently decreases the rehabilitators work load, but it greatly
increases the chance that the baby will accept a greater volume
of formula than is healthy for it.

Check
the baby's weight regularly for slow steady growth. If they aren’t
steadily gaining weight on a balanced formula, feed them more frequently
or increase the concentration of the formula.

When
you first begin feeding the bunny, feed the formula very dilute
(1/3 formula, 2/3 pedialyte) the first few times. At this stage,
what the rabbit needs is the fluids in the milk to combat any dehydration
it may have suffered and it needs to become accustomed slowly to
the ingredients in its formula it is not used to. Your formula is
not going to be identical to what it was drinking in the wild.

If
the baby is not alert, if it is limp or weak or if it is cold -
these initial fluids need to be given subcutaneously by injection
– not by mouth. They need to be administered by someone who
knows what he/she is doing.

How
Should I Hold The Bunny When I Feed It?

I
try to hold the babies in a position I imagine they would suckle
if they were feeding on their mom. I do not hold them upside down
on their backs because I feel they are more likely to aspirate the
milk in that position. Tilt their head slightly higher than their
posterior and hold them firmly, but not so tight as to make it difficult
for them to suck or breath. Wrap them loosely ,like a burrito, in
a soft sock or section of cloth to sop up the drips and give them
a sense of security.

If
you are uncertain if a newly arrived bunny will bolt or jump, feed
it sitting close to the floor. New arrivals will often jump suddenly
when you least expect it. Even rabbits that have been with you for
some time need to be supported firmly to prevent them from injuring
there legs and spines.

Feeding
Tips

Drinking
from a syringe must seem very odd to the bunny at first. It is used
to sucking on a warm, soft nipple. There is medical grade, Silastic
(silicone rubber tubing ) that I sometimes threaded over the syringe
tip to give it a soft, natural like feel. Just be sure the bunny
does not swallow this tubing. Keep a box of Kleenex handy to pat
dry the baby’s nose as it nurses before milk can pass up its
nose.

Do
not save left over milk from feedings. Try to contaminate your refrigerated
supply as little as possible. When in doubt as to freshness, I always
taste the formula myself. If it gets lumpy, forms a skin or becomes
off color, throw it away. Do not feed multiple litters from the
same container. These formulas settle to the bottom on standing.
Stir them before you use them.

I
find it easiest to get the syringe tip into the bunny’s mouth
from the side and then slowly move it to the front as the rabbit
feeds. The lips to the rear form a natural pool that allows the
rabbit to get small a taste of the formula before it associates
the syringe with mealtime.

Hygiene

It
is important to be sanitary when feeding a wild bunny. These cottontails
have all been stressed, and stress lowers immunity to infection.
They are also more susceptible to infection because they are not
receiving their mother’s antibodies in the milk substitute
you are providing. I prefer boiling, microwaving and baking to destroy
bacteria over the use of bleach and other antiseptic products. If
you have to use an antiseptic cleaner, use ordinary 70% grain alcohol.
Many rubbing alcohols have nasty bittering agents added to them
to keep people from consuming them.

Hygiene becomes particularly important when large numbers of bunnies
are being fed and cared for. This is because in large groups, there
is always one or two that are ill and you do not want those illnesses
to spread. Wash your hands between animals, feed rabbits before
other wildlife and feed the weaker ones and new arrivals last.

It
is unwise to keep large numbers of bunnies in close proximity to
other wildlife or pets. When animals live crowded or in close proximity,
disease organisms in one, eventually move to all the others despite
your precautions. I also prefer that one individual take total care
of a specific animal and I encourage them to do that at their own
home.

Do
not change the liners on bunny cages too frequently as rabbits need
to eat their fecal pellets.

Stimulating
The Baby To Poop And Pee

This
is only necessary for bunnies whose eyes have not yet opened and
those that are not moving about on their own. After feeding, use
a moistened Q-tip to gently stroke their genital area. Don’t
be concerned if they do not always respond as long as their tummies
do not become bloated. If you place white paper towels on the bottom
of their box, you will see the yellow stains that show that they
have begun urinating on their own. Be gentle.

When
Should I Beginning Solid Foods And What Should I Feed ?

My
observation is that you won’t improve on how God manages His
creatures here on Earth. You don’t see wild cottontails munching
on apples, digging up carrots, chewing on corn or visiting health
food stores. And the ones that don’t have access to homeopathic
formulas and new-age medicine do just fine. If you want healthy
wild bunnies, feed them what they were designed to eat.

When
cottontails begin to become curious about the taste of things around
them, give them the plants they would normally encounter and for
which they were designed.

Pick
a variety of wild grassland plants
and hays and offer them to your bunny. I know that will be more
work for you than picking stuff up at the grocery, but it will increase
the bunny’s chances of survival once it is on its own. Soon
after the cottontail's eyes have opened and they venture about with
curiosity, I keep hay and plants in their cages. (By then the rabbits
should have received sufficient cecotrophes from you to digest plants.)

Out-of-doors ,try to pick young tender leaves, buds and new growth
and don't pick along poluted roadways. Observe what wild cottontails
are browsing on in your area and include plenty of that. Plants
are most nutritious when they are still growing. So pick in irrigated
areas and select tender buds, shoots and new growth.

Farther south, St. Augustine grass and hibiscus flowers are fine
to include. You are always safer feeding a large variety of plants,
not just one or two. You can supplement wild diet with supermarket-
bought greens: endive, kale, romaine lettuce, watercress, turnip
tops, chard , etc. Try to obtain the outer leaves the staff throws
away. They have always been more than willing to donate those products
to me.
I do not offer cottontails rabbit pellets, although some folks do.
If you do, pick the lowest caloric, name brand one you can find
- not a finishing pellet.

I
do not wash or disinfect the wild plants I gather - the food of
wild rabbits is washed by the rain. The organisms on them are particularly
important if you are uncertain that the bunny received adequate
cecotrophes.

As
soon as they begin to consuming or nibble on these plants, I eliminate
my noon formula feeding and begin to lessen the amount given in
the AM and PM feedings. The stomach and intestinal conditions and
bacteria required to digest plants are different from those necessary
to digest formula. You can’t have both type of bacteria happy
at the same time.
That is why I do not use powdered formula or supplements as a top
dressing.
By 3-4 weeks, they should no longer be receiving formula.

Should
I Offer The Bunny Water At This Time?

Once
bunnies are out and about in their cage, I add a small crock of
water. Jar lids are fine if you fill them with marbles. At this
stage in their life, they are getting plenty of liquid through their
formula, but I want the security of knowing its there if they want
it. Sipper tub bottles are OK as well, as long as you are certain
it is working as it should and that the rabbit understands how to
use it. Coat the end of the sipper tube with molasses or peanut
butter until you are certain it does.

Pre-release
Caging

I
construct my cages using pine framing and 1/2 inch hardware cloth
but there are many good alternatives. I have found that a 48”x
36” x 18” cage is sufficient as a pre-release cage for
3-4 rabbits but you could construct them considerably larger. The
top of the cage is hinged for access. You can use larger mesh, but
I prefer this size because the cages are stiffer and they keep out
mice. I wash new cages with a vinegar solution before use. Do not
use pressure treated or painted lumber. I place the cages at eye-level
to deal with my backaches but bunnies don’t appreciate people
peering down at them.

Keeping
a layer of dry hay on the floor of the cages keeps the bunny’s
tender feet from becoming sore. Change it often. Add some cardboard
shoe boxes for it to hide in and some fruit-tree branches to nibble
on. If these cages are out-of-doors, they need a piece of sheet
tin as a roof and placement to avoid the heat of the day. Other
than that, use your imagination.

Both
raccoon and opossum feces carry parasites that can kill rabbits.
Arrange your cages so none can climb over the cages at night or
contaminate their future supplies.

This
is a time when I let their natural fearful instincts and distrust
of humans return. I place these cages where there isn’t much
human traffic and only approach to service and check on them. Some
bunnies become spooky and ready for release earlier than others.

When
Should I Release This Bunny?

People feeding bunnies without cecotrophes often release them early
(less than 5 weeks). That is one way to improve release statistics
when providing deficient diets and a less than sufficient environment.
It is also tempting when rehabbers are overwhelmed with mouths to
feed. But I doubt than many of these rabbits survive.

Any
hand-raised cottontail is going to be at a disadvantage when dealing
with predators and dangerous situations. If you have personally
raised this cottontail, you will instinctively know when the time
is right. It should be alert when you are present, hunker down when
confronted with sudden movements or people looming over it. It should
be afraid of dogs. It should tense up or vocalize when you grab
it. Cottontails often rear up on their rear legs about now –
and they may show the beginnings of aggressive behavior to their
cage mates - or you.

Check
the long-term weather forecast for periods of good weather. I release
them just before sunset.

If
you deal with enough baby cottontails, there will always be a few
“special needs’ bunnies that you know will never be
able to adapt to truly wild living. Use your ingenuity with those
– every one is different.

Where
Should I Release The Bunny?

That
is a dilemma that all wildlife rehabilitators face. If an area already
has rabbits, it probably has all the rabbits that the plant-life
there can support. If it has no rabbits, there is a good reason
for that also. Either, there are not enough edible plants, there
are too many predators or the area is being hunted. Your bunny already
comes with a big disability – it isn’t as spooky as
it should be about threats and dangers and it will be potential
finger-food for every predator in the area. Besides, God only destined
that a very small percentage of young-of-the-year survive till the
following spring.

Young
cottontail rabbits hang out in relatively small areas of only an
acre or two. In town, I find fenced drainage easements, fenced power
plants, large city parks, museum lawns, churchyards and cemeteries
best, as long as they also have some brushy areas in which to hide.
Some of these areas are too cut off from wild rabbit populations
to allow rabbits to have made their way there, but still have plenty
of plant browse and no predators. Parks that allow pets are not
good places. Nor are places close to busy roadways. The tamer an
animal is, the farther away from humans I try to release it. Big
country estates will often agree to let you release bunnies there.
Closed military reservations are fine. So are airport clear zones
if they do not have a “hazardous wildlife program” in
place. Once you find a good release area, it is tempting to release
too many bunnies there. If you get heavy into rabbit rehab, potential
release sites will always be at the back of your mind when you are
driving.

Tracts
of land with “for sale” signs are not good locations.
Bottomland and field borders are on established farms are. If you
can conveniently stroll through the area without getting poked and
thorned, the brush isn’t dense enough. Bunnies
are particularly fond of brush piles. They are easy to build - the
thornier and denser the better.

Look for established family farmers. I generally chew the fat with
the farmer to casually inquire if they hunt bunnies or lease out
hunting rights before I bring the subject up. Bring them some thank-you
baked goods from time to time.

Can
I Keep This Adorable Cottontail Bunny As My Pet?

No

A
piece of very non-essential information is that rabbits are not
rodents. They belong to a slightly different Order and are called
lagomorphs. Lagomorphs have two sets of upper incisors (the long
teeth) one set behind the other, while rodents have one set. Also,
lagomorphs can pucker their noses. Cottontails are not confined
to the Americas anymore. Between 1950 and 1980, they were introduced
to Spain, France, Switzerland and Italy.

Remember
that it is not the destiny of more than a few infant bunnies to
survive to maturity. If it was, the World would be head over heels
in rabbits.

If
you are interested in what will happen if the good bacteria are
not present, go here.

If
you are interested in what research still needs to be done, go here.